Tracing Lines
by signoRINA
Summary: [TenchiDBZ] In the life of a researcher, adventure is the game, discovery is the reward. Gohan gets to learn all of this... the hard way. Through all of the choas, he finds new friends, a new foe, and a one of a kind treasure that's priceless and more...
1. Sucked In

This story was inspired by a pair I have never read about around here. I loved the pair for years and I was pretty agitated that no one (as far as I know) has written about them. So I planned out a plot, blah blah blah, and ta-da! New story!

I'm pretty excited since this is my first time writing up a Tenchi/DBZ fic, and I'm somewhat hoping I'm one of the first authors to write about this pair (because I gain ego points that way, lol). And if I'm not, s'all good. At least I'm doing what I can to help introduce them to you.

And that reminds me… you guys have no idea who the pair is, do you? Well don't worry, you'll find out sooner or later. Some of you will probably figure it out by the end of this chapter, lol!

Quick Notes:

-DBZ Timeline: Takes place about 6 years after Kid Buu was defeated. Gohan never went to high school, or has ever met Videl (sorry GV fans), but he ended up being a scholar (through ways you can think of on your own)

-Tenchi Timeline: Takes place sometime after Universe ended and everyone's back on Earth.

Welps, I hope you enjoy, review if you can, and uh… writer's block sucks. Yea.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DBZ or Tenchi. I do, however, own this story, so there.

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

Chapter 1 – _Sucked In_

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Gohan's eyes widened as he yelped in surprise and fell back from his seat with a loud thud that echoed throughout the room. He mentally cursed at the one called "karma" for catching him almost sleeping on the job. He groaned and rubbed at the pain in the back of his head and hurriedly got up to answer the visual call from who he presumed was his boss. Pressing one of the buttons on the motherboard, he watched as a flat screen TV slowly rose up from the trap door in the floor. He quickly straightened out the wrinkles in his shirt and pants and stood up straight in an attempt to look at least half pleasing. The TV flashed on with a click and the trademark Son grin slowly creped its way to his lips as he made clear eye contact with his superintendent on the screen.

"Status report ready, mam!" He joked, adding a play-around salute just for kicks. The blue-haired woman that was her superior on the opposite side of the screen giggled at his failed attempt to act serious, but she too played along.

"As you were soldier!" She commanded. It was Gohan's turn to laugh as he stood normally and folded his broad arms across his chest.

"And how are you today, Bulma?" He politely asked. The older woman scanned him up and down, noticing he was wearing his blue baggy pants, a pair of Goku's famous boots, and a white t-shirt. Not really the "professional" attire someone on the job should wear, but she assumed he was going to train with the adjustable gravity later, so she waved it off.

"Oh I'm good, thanks. Just another day at Capsule Corp. and you know, doing my job playing 'second mother' to you behind Chi Chi's back. Nothin' big." She smiled. Gohan smirked and nodded. From what he could tell from the background behind her, it was already night time, so he was secretly glad that his mother wasn't the kind of person to stay late at someone's house. Though, it didn't mean he didn't miss her.

"And everyone else?" He asked.

"We're all fine over here. Nothing much has happened since you left…" She placed a finger on her chin. "Well, except for your mother constantly crying and begging for you to come home, but that's about it."

Gohan scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Ah, I'm sorry about that Bulma. I told her not to worry about me while I'm out here."

"Well, you can't blame her. If Trunks had to stay in space for three months straight, I'd be worried sick every day." She pointed out.

Gohan nodded again. "Ah, that's true. But it's only been two weeks so far… By the way, thanks a lot for offering me this research job. I really needed it."

The woman waved her hand at him. "Don't worry about it, Mr. Scholar!" She teased. "You deserve to work under _this_ awesome genius! Besides, you're my only employee that I fully trust when it comes to piloting the new ship. How's she doing?"

"The ship's working great as expected. It's just like the one dad used to get to Namek, except everything is working a lot faster."

"And with the help of the Supreme Kai, I was able to make the only indestructible ship in the universe! Isn't that cool?" She grinned. "Nothing should be able to put a dent in that baby with the metal we used!"

Gohan let out a small laugh before settling back down in his seat. He ran a hand through his jet black spiky hair to push a few loose strands out of his tired eyes as he leaned back. Bulma seized the moment to actually look at him. Not at his physical aspects, but through her mind's eye, she admired just how much he has grown up over the years.

She smiled warmly, remembering their dragon ball searching adventures on Namek with Krillin. He was only a kid, on a mission meant for someone much older and experienced, yet he managed to get the job done. Then there was the Cell tournament. It was one of the first times she had ever seen Gohan fight with so much power, so much determination… that he even surpassed his father.

And it was only six years ago did they defeat Buu, and Gohan realized that he was no longer interested in being one of Earth's protectors. Sure he trained every once in a while to keep from getting rusty, but he chose to focus more on his studies. Ironically, he fulfilled the dream his mother had long pressured him to pursue, and oddly enough, he felt content with it.

Now here he was, working under Bulma as her official space researcher. His job was to explore beyond Pluto and report any findings that could be of use. According to him, he hadn't found anything significant yet, but thanks to his mother's stubbornness, and his father's patience, he didn't intend on giving up so easily.

Gohan blinked in confusion at the lost look she was giving him.

"Bulma…? Are you okay?"

She blinked back to reality and her cheeks instantly grew a light cherry red, realizing she was caught day dreaming. She shook her head.

"N-No, I'm fine! It's just…" She sighed. "It's just… you really have grown up into a fine young man, Gohan."

He sat back up questioningly then looked down in embarrassment. "Thanks Bulma."

She giggled at his shyness. Yup, that was Gohan alright; same as ever.

"Now I'm wondering why you don't have a girlfriend yet because you're just too darn cute and--"

"Bulma!" Gohan cut her off, the heat rising even more in his cheeks. "It's already bad enough Mom has been trying to set me up on blind dates with random girls she met on her shopping trips!"

Bulma laughed hard and held her stomach. "Hahahaha! Oh, I'm sorry Gohan, but I just couldn't help it! A handsome twenty-four year old like yourself should have at least had one date in your life…"

"Bulma…"

"Ok, ok, I'll stop, I'll stop." She wiped a stray tear from her eye before looking back at him with more of a business look on her face. "Anyway, onto other matters…"

Gohan stood up straight in his seat to match the new attitude, watching her prop her elbows on her desk and letting her chin rest on her interlaced fingers.

"I'm actually quite surprised the transmission made it all the way to where you are, Gohan. Seeing as this is the first time I've attempted to contact you with millions of miles of a distance, that's a really good sign."

"And as we speak, the distance between us is increasing, and there's still no sign of static…" Gohan added.

The television crackled for a second, catching both speakers off guard. They both stayed silent for a few extra seconds, expecting another buzz to come up, but nothing came.

"I suppose I spoke too soon, heh." Gohan said as Bulma let out a small sigh of lost hope.

"Aw, and I thought I had it down too. Oh well…" A loud beeping filled her room and she turned to the side to check out another screen. Her face instantly filled with confusion. "What in the world is tha--"

The television once cracked again, but this time it was thicker and it sounded louder, fiercer. Gohan eyed the screen questioningly.

"Bulma…?" He asked. Only the crackling answered him.

'Strange… static shouldn't be sudden like that…' He thought. He stood up and tried to type in a few commands on the motherboard to help fix the screen. Nothing seemed to be working, and the static had already covered up Bulma completely. He quickly thought of another idea. He pressed one of the buttons from before to turn off the TV and let it sink back into the floor and pressed another button with the word 'Mic' labeled underneath it.

"Bulma? Bulma, can you hear me?" He spoke out loud. No response.

"Gohan to Bulma, do you read me?" He spoke again.

"…ohan… Turn arou…blac…ole…nearby..." Bulma managed to say. Strangely, she sounded like she was yelling at him.

Gohan adjusted the volume, but still the static chopped up her words and he barely made out anything.

"What? What's nearby? The speaker isn't--"

"…urn aroun…tur…round…"

"'Turn around'? I'm sorry, I can't hear yo--"

A loud buzzing suddenly filled the room, and red lights he never noticed before started flashing and flailing everywhere. Gohan took a step back and tried to analyze the situation calmly. Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance to as the ship began to shake violently, forcing him to fall over and meet the floor once again.

"Oof!" He groaned. "What the heck is going on?!?"

He quickly got back up and entered in a few keys, allowing a black screen with green lines and dots of different sizes to show up. It was digital map of some sort. It resembled the ones used in military bases to help track down unidentified ships within a certain radius, except this one was specifically made for space.

Gohan's eyes immediately found the problem. He gasped. A huge blotch not too far away from where his location was, was emitting a strange aura of energy. Dots surrounding the blotch were slowly gathering around it and then somehow… fusing into it? His eyes widened with fear.

It was a black hole… and he was flying right at it!

But it didn't make sense; he would've heard AND seen a star exploding before hand. Where did it come from? He cursed underneath is breath. No time to worry about that now, he had to change the direction of the ship, and fast!

"Goha… urry! There isn…uch time…!" Bulma's barely audible voice yelled.

Gohan slowly began to panic, but kept focused. He talked his thoughts out loud, trying to draw his attention to what he was doing instead of worrying. He typed in commands to stop the engine and tried to redirect it.

"Okay c'mon. Now I just have to switch the engines to the opposite side and then…"

The shaking of the ship grew even more violent, and he could feel the rush of adrenaline flow through every one of his veins. Anxiety was taking over, forcing beads of sweat to pour out of his forehead and run down his face. The engines had switched to the opposite side of the ship and he flicked them on to try to fly the other way around.

"Please work… c'mon…"

He looked outside the window and his heart dropped; he could see the black hole getting bigger and bigger. He cursed out loud. The plan wasn't working! His head turned to the speaker and he quickly spoke into it.

"Bulma! It's got a hold of me! I can't escape!" He yelled.

His eyes were glued to the speaker, hoping he could hear her reassuring voice and tell him everything was going to be okay and that she had a plan to get him out.

Moments of static then…

Nothing.

Gohan felt his body go numb and his whole body fell. He hadn't felt this scared since his days with Cell and he wasn't enjoying any of it at all. The lights flickered on and off, all of his belongings fell off of their shelves and cabinets, and he could just see the ship plunge into darkness. He punched the floor in anger, feeling helpless all over again, knowing well that he can't do anything.

He could hear, feel, and see the ship begin to scrunch up like a paper ball. It was the immense gravity taking its toll, crushing whatever things it swallowed up. A thought raced into his mind.

"Gravity! That's it!" He got up from his spot and ran to the center control, where the gravity settings for his training were located. He quickly raised the gravity inside by two hundred times and waited. It didn't have an affect on him, but it managed to slow down the crunches being made on the ship. His hope rose a little bit.

"Alright! I need to balance the gravity in here with outside to keep from getting crushed. I can't escape, but maybe I can still survive…"

He adjusted them once again, this time to four hundred and fifty times. His shoulders grew heavier and he could feel the strong force drag him down, as he had never trained much under these conditions. Gohan did his best to stay up, but failed. He yelled and powered up to his first level of super saiyan. The weight was still on his shoulders, but at least he could stand up.

The black hole let out a loud roar of frustration, as if it knew what Gohan was up to. The ship began to crumple up once again, with a much heavier gravity level forcing itself onto it. Gohan yelled, taking it as a challenge, and ascended to the second level of super saiyan. He adjusted the gravity settings once again, this time raising it to six hundred times.

His body slightly shook. It was unhealthy to be changing the settings so drastically since the body is slow at adjusting. He could feel his heart beat faster, trying to supply his lungs and muscles with enough air to keep him alive. The room had started growing a few cracks, due to the metal being pushed in, but at least it managed to stop. Gohan smirked at the success.

All of a sudden, the room around him grew blurry, his body swayed from side to side. The dramatic changes of gravity and not being able to train under such harsh conditions were catching up to the young saiyan. He tried to shake off the dizziness, but it only made it worse.

"Gotta…stay up… need to… stay alive…" He groaned. His body finally gave in to all the stress he had built up and fell to the floor once again. The half saiyan's breathing grew heavy and his eyes struggled to stay open. It felt like a thousand airplanes were resting on top of him, crushing his little body, until it became as flat as a pancake. He closed his eyes, accepting what fate had in store for him.

"SUBJECT UNCONCIOUS. RE-ADJUSTING GRAVITY LEVEL TO NORMAL." The central computer said. A small laugh escaped Gohan's lips.

"Heh… Bulma was still worried… I'd over do it…" He murmured.

He felt the weight disappear off of his back and carefully listened to the gravity outside take its crushing affect on the ship once again. Gohan's golden hair turned back to its original black as his mind joined in and suddenly blacked out as well.

The shaking gradually slowed down to a halt, and the crushing had suddenly ceased. Darkness was no longer the only thing outside the window; stars shot by, ships flew around, and familiar planets made glowing appearances. Unbeknownst to Gohan, he managed to survive that catastrophe. But now he was trapped in a new one. His black ship was zooming unnaturally fast and it was headed towards a familiar blue and green planet. With him out cold, his only hope of stopping him from crash landing lay in the hands of whoever was piloting the huge red ship nearby…

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

Reviews are highly appreciated! (twiddles thumbs)

-signoRINA


	2. Lights, Camera, Action!

Alrighty, second chapter up! And wow, my brain hurts…

Anywho, I checked the stats for the first chapter, and I'm pretty happy with the number of hits I got. It means you guys are reading it, and it makes me all the more proud. So thanks a lot!

Well, uh… here ya go! Chapter Two of "Tracing Lines"!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DBZ or Tenchi. I do, however, own this story, so there.

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

Chapter 2 – _Lights, Camera, Action!_

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

"This is my last one, I swear!!"

"Mihoshi, ya pig, give it here! You've had four already!"

"But I'm still hungry!"

"But _I_ haven't eaten anything since we left four hours ago!"

The blonde haired woman ran behind her seat, cradling a bowl of instant noodles in her arms like a mother would with her baby. It would've been a good analogy except that _this_ mother had the personality of a spoiled five year old, and hands as secure as a rusty nail trying to hold up an elephant. She stood alert, ready to make a run for it if her partner suddenly decided to chase her down.

Kiyone massaged hard at her temples. For a brief moment, she wondered just how much jail time she would have to spend if she decided to 'accidentally' pull the trigger on her laser gun that happened to be pointing at Mihoshi's head. As tempting as that sounded, she crossed out that idea and tried to come by with a more non-violent approach.

The blue haired woman rubbed a gloved hand down her face and let it rest, covering her nose and lips. Her eyes suddenly widened.

"OH MY GOD! Mihoshi! Behind you!" Kiyone yelled, pointing a finger behind her partner. Mihoshi blinked for a second. Then she playfully wagged her finger at her direction.

"Ah ah ah! That's not very nice Kiyone; trying to trick me like that…" She smirked.

Kiyone rose an eyebrow. "Oh? Well it's gonna be about seventy years till Halley's Comet comes by again and--"

"HALLEY'S COMET?!? WHERE?!?" Mihoshi squealed and turned around quickly, forgetting about the noodles in her hands and letting it drop in her seat as she pressed her face against the window of Yagami. She looked around, finding nothing but a couple of stars.

"Halley! Oh Halley! Where'd ya go?" She asked out loud.

Kiyone rushed over and grabbed the noodles off the seat, completely satisfied that her trick worked.

'Yes! Now I can finally eat!' She happily thought.

She didn't have the chance to peel off the covering as the alert signal from the dashboard blared out. Kiyone growled, tossing the food aside; she was so close! She pressed one of the buttons on her arm rest, and watched a hologram light up in front of her, revealing a map of where everything that was in the solar system was located. She looked to the right. Something huge was flying across the screen, and it definitely didn't look normal.

"Hey Mihoshi, look at this…" She called over. Mihoshi unstuck her face from the window and waddled over to the hologram. She did what she was told and looked down. A huge circle was flying past Saturn and was heading towards Jupiter at a fast rate. Mihoshi's mouth widened in surprise.

"Whoa! Waddya know! Halley's Comet! I didn't know you could see THAT far, Kiyone…" She said, bewildered.

Kiyone couldn't believe it too. Either she just found out she can magically make comets appear on command, or that _thing_ was just a coincidence. She weighed the differences and stuck with the second theory. The detective hopped back in her seat and got straight to work.

"Mihoshi, track that thing's coordinates down. We're gonna destroy it…"

"Aw! But Kiyone! It's Halley's Comet! You're not supposed to be destroying--"

"It's not a comet; it's going way too fast to be one."

"Oh… so it's a meteor then? Halley never had a meteor before… did she?"

Kiyone let out a sigh before steering Yagami towards the path the object was going. She pressed hard on the acceleration, wanting to get the job done fast so she could eat.

"Mihoshi, just try to find out what it is, okay? And Halley was a man, not a woman." Kiyone said calmly. Mihoshi shrugged and started pressing commands on her side of the ship. She waited a while to download captured pictures taken from set up cameras near the Saturn area.

"Huh, it's not a rock at all. I think it's a ship, Kiyone…" Mihoshi muttered, trying to zoom in on the black object.

"What do you mean 'you think'?"

Mihoshi scratched her head in confusion. "It has windows, that's for sure. But I've never seen a ship in the shape of a ball before. Actually it's more of a deflated ball. It's pretty beat up with all those weird dents in it…"

Kiyone looked over her monitor to see the picture for herself. The object in question was in the shape of a pod. Or at least, it was supposed to be. Black paint covered the whole thing, possibly for camouflaging purposes, and there a few windows that showed the inside. And Mihoshi was right; it was a total mess. But it was probably in good working condition if it was traveling that fast.

"Looks like we got a speeder then…" Kiyone concluded. The mysterious ship was almost near Jupiter so she turned on the engine boosters to catch the crazy pilot before it made it to Mars. "How's the transmission signal? Are we close enough yet?"

Mihoshi stayed silent for a moment, then nodded her head. "Yea, try it out now."

Kiyone pressed a button on the control panel, sending a radio transmission to the black ship minutes away from them. She quickly cleared her throat before turning on the built in microphone.

"This is the Galaxy Police! Pull over now or we will be forced to take immediate action!" She ordered out loud. Mihoshi locked their camera onto the ship to get a closer look and to follow it better, but it showed no signs of slowing down. Kiyone spoke again.

"This is your last warning! Slow down or we will be forced to open fire!" Kiyone said even more determinedly. Mihoshi bit at her fingernails worriedly, hoping the ship would cooperate so they could all leave peacefully. Yet still, the ship stayed constant with its fast speed.

"Mihoshi, get your cannons ready…"

The blonde looked glumly over at her controls; she didn't enjoy the shooting part of their job. Kiyone locked her crosshairs onto the incoming ship, and Mihoshi slowly followed suit.

"Ready… FIRE!"

Both officers shot at the sides of the ship, firing lasers and trying to aim at where they thought the engines were located. They found no luck finding the engines and it worried them. Kiyone took a closer look at the ship and found that their shots were ricocheting off its surface. She was taken aback.

"What the…?" She suddenly realized they were still in its path. She quickly grabbed hold of the controls and steered Yagami off to the side to get out of its way. The black ship zoomed on by and made its way past Jupiter. Kiyone let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. 'That was a close one…' She thought. She turned the ship around and flew as fast as she could, going with the idea of tailgating it.

"According to the picture, the lights were on inside. I'm gonna try to get close to it, and I want you to try and get a good picture of the pilot, alright?" Kiyone informed Mihoshi. She nodded accordingly and set up Yagami's digital camera and aimed it at the ship. Kiyone took it as a cue to speed up, and she successfully managed to fly parallel to the ship. Mihoshi did her best to capture a picture, but all of her attempts failed as she always moved at the last second before taking each shot.

"Ah nope… too high… okay now low… ack! Almost had it there…" She struggled. Kiyone let out a sigh of frustration. She couldn't control the ship and take pictures at the same time. Another idea came into mind.

"Mihoshi, grab the binoculars from the glove compartment. At least try to get a good look and note down their description." Kiyone suggested. Mihoshi stuck out her tongue at the camera before reaching under the dashboard to feel for the binoculars. She found them hiding under a couple of empty potato chip bags and candy wrappers. After wiping off the crumbs, she looked through the lenses and got a clear view of who was inside.

"Ok, we got a male figure on our hands, Kiyone." Mihoshi confirmed. "He's got a white shirt and blue pants… he has black hair… a cute face, hehehe…"

"Focus Mihoshi…" Kiyone interrupted, even though she was secretly curious. Mihoshi cleared her throat.

"Wow. He must be a really good pilot…" She said in awe.

"What makes you say that?"

"Cuz he's on the floor sleeping…"

Kiyone's eyes widened. "Is he sitting up sleeping? Or flat on the ground sleeping?"

"Um… flat on the ground sleeping…"

Kiyone's eyes grew worried again. The pilot was out cold. She instinctively pressed a button to send another radio transmission, hoping this time it would go through. She took a quick look to see how they were doing on time and found they have reached Mars. It wasn't looking good; it'd be about twenty minutes before he crashed into Earth. She spoke out loud, scaring Mihoshi out of her seat.

"Excuse me sir! Now would be a really good time for you to wake up!" She said pleadingly. Mihoshi slowly climbed back up into her spot when she remembered something. She quickly got up ran out of the cockpit, leaving Kiyone to try and wake up the unconscious pilot.

"Sir! Please wake up! We need you to slow down your ship!"

Kiyone grabbed the binoculars and took a quick look inside the black ship. The man was still lying on the floor unconscious. Her eyes quickly shifted from side to side, trying to think of her next move. She thought of one idea…

"Sorry Yagami…" Kiyone muttered.

She increased her speed a little bit and took a quick look to her right side. Good, they were perfectly aligned. She suddenly swerved to the side and bumped Yagami into the black ship. She could hear the loud clash of the metal, and it didn't sound healthy at all. What's more, it didn't budge a lot, like what would happen with other ships, but she was sure she shook him enough. She looked through the binoculars again, and saw the man's arms and head moving. Yes! Now they were getting somewhere…

"Sir! Can you hear me? We need you to get up now and regain control of the ship!" She said out loud to him. She looked again, and saw that he was having a very difficult time getting up, with the way he kept collapsing every time he rose his upper body off the floor.

"C'mon…" Kiyone whispered, and looked up front to see how she was doing on time. She could see the familiar blue dot of a planet fifteen or so minutes away. Mihoshi rushed back in excitedly. Kiyone was about to ask where she was, but then the blonde pulled out an air horn from behind her back and pressed down on the red horn.

"WAAAAKKKKKEEEEE UPPPPPP!!!!" Mihoshi yelled, her booming voice going as loud as the ear splitting wailing that was coming from the tiny can. Kiyone jumped up and immediately covered her ears from blowing out. She grabbed the horn from Mihoshi's hand and chugged it right at her head, where it bounced off cleanly and landed on the floor.

"IDIOT! Don't point that thing at my head! Where did you get that anyway?!" Kiyone growled. Mihoshi took in a sharp intake of breath and tried to rub the growing pain in her forehead away.

"Ouchies… I found it when I was in Ryoko's room. She told me she was going to use it to wake up Ayeka the next morning, and I thought it wasn't very nice, so I took it!" Mihoshi explained.

Kiyone was about to clobber her in the head for invading someone's room, but stopped when a new voice fell over the speakers and caught both of their attentions.

"Stop… too loud… ugh…" A deep and tired voice said. Kiyone and Mihoshi looked at each other for a moment and quickly looked outside the window. It was far, but they could still see the man was still on the floor, doing his best to crawl to his controls. The two officers quickly got back in their designated seats, with Kiyone back on steering and microphone, and Mihoshi watching the action.

"Sir, are you okay? The ship is going way too fast, and we need you to slow it down before you crash land into Earth." Kiyone directed. She waited for a few seconds, before the man responded.

"…Earth? Ugh…" The two looked outside again, and found he had propped himself up on a chair and was slouching in front of the controls. They could faintly hear the sound of typing in the background, before he spoke again. "The controls… aren't responding… the engines… have been dead… for a while…"

Mihoshi gulped in horror while Kiyone looked down at the floor to search for her next plan. They had about ten minutes left, and he was unable to decrease his speed. Crap! What to do?! Moments of silence and the man spoke up again.

"…hey… make sure… I hit the water…" The man quietly gasped out. "At least then… I won't hit anyone…"

Kiyone's eyes looked up at the black ship, taking a moment to consider the man's idea. She turned her head to her partner.

"Mihoshi, contact Washu! See if she still has that high density magnet and tell her to place it in the middle of the lake. Hopefully Tenchi won't mind if we use his lake…" Kiyone said. Mihoshi nodded and went right on to calling the greatest scientific genius. Kiyone looked at the black ship.

"Sir, is there anyone else aboard?"

"No… just me…"

"Ok, we're gonna take your plan into action, so just stay put and--"

She heard a loud thud in the speakers and the screeching of the chair rubbing against the floor. She looked up at the window and saw that he was down on the floor again, unmoving. Mihoshi looked up from the phone briefly before getting a confirmation from Washu.

"…yea, she said put it in the middle of the lake… well, I don't know what she's going to do with it, it's _her_ plan!"

Kiyone stuck her hand out, silently asking for the phone, and Mihoshi handed it over hesitantly. Talking on the phone while driving a vehicle is a big no no! But this was an emergency, so she let it go. Kiyone tucked the phone underneath her cheek and shoulder.

"Washu, there's a speeding ship here with an unconscious pilot, so we need to make sure it lands in the lake." She said. "Use the magnet to pull the ship to your direction, then switch the forces so that the rejecting force can oppose and slow down the ship. We're gonna land in ten minutes so get ready."

She hung up after hearing the 'okay' from Washu and tossed the phone back to Mihoshi. She sighed and looked over up front. There was Earth, in full view, ready to get hit. She looked to her right pulled back on her speed when she saw the black ship begin to swerve slowly to the left and line up in front of them.

"Hey Kiyone, did he die?" Mihoshi asked innocently, referring to the thud she heard a while ago. Kiyone ran her hand down her face in frustration and looked at her.

"I don't know Mihoshi, we'll just have to see we make it to Earth…" She murmured tiredly. She activated the auto-pilot sequence and set the options to make sure it parked over the lake. She leaned back in her seat and momentarily closed her eyes. Mihoshi looked up and placed a finger to her lip.

"Oh… then I wonder if dead people can swim…"

Kiyone opened one of her eyes in realization. She cursed for having such an extreme job such as this. She got up from her seat, and slowly removed her uniform jacket, revealing a tight navy blue shirt underneath, and placed it in her seat. Grabbing a nearby hair tie, she tied her long blue hair up and let the pony tail drop down behind her. She clipped her gun and yo-yo to her belt as Mihoshi looked up at her questioningly.

"Watch my stuff, and don't touch the noodles…" Kiyone said calmly before walking out and exiting the cockpit. The blonde watched after her curiously. She took a quick glance at the half opened noodles, and shrugged.

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

"Sheesh, don't they know I need sleep too? Wake me up in the middle of the night like that…" Washu mumbled under her breath as she waited outside Tenchi's two story house, in her green nightgown and cabbit slippers. Her light-black see through laptop popped into the air and she began typing away the settings for the magnet she strategically placed into the lake. It was a giant hockey puck of a thing and she was more than glad she used her sliding door portal to get it in the water. Otherwise she would've had to bother a certain space pirate, who despised being woken up, to carry the heavy thing out.

She switched on the magnet. The whole area began to shake gently, feeling like a small earthquake underneath her feet. The lake let out a quiet purr; it was the magnet signifying its working order underneath. The small woman looked up at the clear night sky, and saw the bright red of Yagami making its entrance through the atmosphere, with the black ship they were talking about flying right under them.

She kept her attention on the ship and waited patiently for the right moment to switch forces. Too caught up in what was going on, she failed to notice that the rest of her housemates have ran outside, all garbed in their sleeping wear and wondering what she was up to.

"Washu! What's going on?!" Tenchi asked. Ryoko came up behind him and added in.

"If this is another one of your crazy experiments, you've got a lot of nerve trying to--"

"SHUSH!!" Washu turned to silence them. "I need to concentrate… please…"

Her head turned back to looking at the sky, and everyone followed her line of vision, curious to see what she was looking at. They all saw Yagami coming in, but that thing that was falling…

"Washu… just what _is_ that…?" Ayeka asked nervously, getting the sudden feeling she should probably move away from the lake. Washu didn't answer her, and kept watching the black ship. Her eyes furrowed in thought.

'It's going way too fast… If I switch too soon, the force will send it back to space… but if I switch too late, the ship won't have time to slow down enough before it hits…' She debated.

It was closing in on them, the shadow above the lake grew bigger and bigger as it fell closer and closer. Everyone stood nervously by the shore, waiting for it to come down on them. Washu held her finger steady above the button.

'Almost…'

They could hear the distant whistling get increasingly louder and Yagami's slow mumbling get even lower as it descended. The red ship covered the sky, and everyone was able to get a better look at the black ship. Ayeka pulled Sasami to her side, holding on to her to protect her from whatever was going to come. Ryo-oki jumped up into the girl's arms and huddled in against her for safety. The scientist quietly waited it out patiently just a few seconds, then…

'NOW!'

She quickly activated the switch, and the magnet began to murmur even more in the water, as the opposing force took over and tried to reject the black ship coming its way. The ship's speed began to slow down quickly as expected, letting Washu relax just a little bit.

"Excellent! Now all I have to do is turn it off before it shoots back up and it should drop safely in the lake…" Washu said aloud.

The ship slowed down drastically as it fell. Everyone was relieved there wasn't going to be a cannon ball. No one was in the mood for a cold shower while they were still outside at night. It made it a quarter of a mile before reaching the lake and it began to float momentarily. Washu pressed the "Off" button on her laptop, which caused the shaking and deep murmuring of the magnet to stop. The ship dropped into the water with a huge splash, creating a tidal wave for a ripple that wasn't too big for anyone to worry about. It starting sinking quickly, due to how heavy the metal was, but no one paid mind to it as Yagami slowly came in a few seconds later. The black ship was completely under water, and still sinking, by the time the red ship parked to a full stop just feet away from the lake's surface.

Everyone cheered at Washu's success. They assumed that she just stopped a meteor from crashing landing into their home and clapped for joy.

"Good job Washu!"

"Yes indeed; spectacular performance!"

Washu turned around and grinned widely. She made a peace sign with her hand and laughed maniacally.

"Bwahahaha! Yep! I did it! Me!" She laughed off. Sasami stepped forward and smiled at her.

"Wow Washu, did Mihoshi and Kiyone tell you about the meteor?" She asked. Washu giggled a few seconds later then stopped and looked at the young girl oddly.

"Meteor…?" She asked. Then her eyes widened. She jumped back in realization. "OH NO!!!"

"Oh my goodness! Kiyone!" Ayeka shouted, pointing at where Yagami was. Everyone looked up at what she was pointing to and gasped. The blue haired officer had suddenly jumped out of the side of her ship and dived right into the water. Tenchi panicked.

"Ah, Washu! What's she doing?!" He yelled. Washu shook out of what trance she was in and held her head in fear. She pointed at the lake where the ship sunk and looked at him.

"That thing wasn't a meteor, it was a ship! And I totally forgot there was a guy in there! AND HE'S UNCONSCIOUS!!!" She wailed and turned back to the lake. "Kiyone must've jumped in to save him!"

"Ack! Oh no!"

"She's going to freeze to death if she stays there too long!"

Washu ruffled her hair. "Gah! Tenchi! Ryoko! Get in there and help her out!" Washu barked. The two nodded without hesitation. Ryoko took a hold of Tenchi's arms and flew the both of them of the spot to where Kiyone dove in.

"Ok, the two of you, can you get some towels?" Washu turned around to face Ayeka and Sasami. "Those guys are gonna need 'em and—GAH!!"

Mihoshi mysteriously appeared right behind the Juraian sisters, making all of them jump up at once. She looked at them innocently, slurping up the noodles from the bowl in her hands. She licked her lips.

"Oh my, I hope they come back okay…"

Washu whacked the bowl out of her hands, infuriated. "WHY AREN'T YOU OUT THERE HELPING KIYONE?!?!"

Mihoshi cringed, more at the hot soup spilling all over her than at Washu's yelling. She pulled a stray noodle out of her hair.

"Well… I can't swim… and Kiyone told me to watch her stuff…"

"And you couldn't do that either?!?" Ayeka jumped in. Mihoshi shook her head.

"No, look…" She took off the uniform shirt she was wearing and held it up for all to see. It was soaked and smelled of ramen, and had bits of garlic and noodles were stuck on it. "This is Kiyone's; I wore it so I can watch it better! Isn't that smart?"

The three face faulted.

"Oh Mihoshi…" Sasami sighed.

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

Yea, okay, weird place to stop, I know, but trust me, if I continued with my original plan, this chapter would've been TWICE as long. And I really don't wanna double check 20+ pages for errors, so I had to put a break somewhere! (dodges stuff thrown at her)

I'm gonna put the third chapter up as soon as I can, I swear!

Please review! I'll be a happy camper if you do!

-signoRINA


	3. Near Death Experiences

My goodness, we got a long chapter here, folks! Yeesh, I'm tired…

Anyways, I got a new note about the story:

-Kiyone and Mihoshi moved into the Masaki residence a few months ago for reasons you can come up with on your own. Though I'm pretty sure you'd agree that Mihoshi's accidents during their part time jobs made it completely hard for the two of them to keep up with the rent, and yadda yadda yadda.

Other stuff: MAJOR leap in the hits this story is getting. Thank you so much for reading! It's like, whoa, lol!

So, that's it for now, I'll let you know about anything else after you read this chapter, k? K.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DBZ or Tenchi. I do, however, own this story, so there.

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

Chapter 3- _Near Death Experiences_

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

"AH-CHOO!!!"

Ayeka gave a small box of tissues to Tenchi, who thanked her while rubbing his nose, and willingly grabbed a few sheets before passing it down to Ryoko and Kiyone. The three were sniffling and shivering in their seats with blankets wrapped tightly around themselves, trying to get warm in the comfort of Washu's laboratory. Even though they had changed into much dryer clothing, the freezing temperature from their late night swim, almost forty minutes ago, still lingered throughout their bodies. They had successfully rescued the pilot from the sunken ship in the lake, but now they were worried about his health status.

The room was moderately quiet, save for the electricity running through all of the random wires hanging or laying everywhere and the pink-haired scientist typing wildly at her one-story high computer and monitor. They watched the back of her head anxiously. How was he doing? Was he going to make it? These questions ran through everyone's minds, and they wanted to hear nothing but good news from her. Washu didn't seem worried, but she didn't look calm either. She kept her eyes glued to the monitor, only turning her head every once in a while to check on the man healing in her regeneration chamber.

Sasami entered the lab quietly with a small smile on her face. In her hands was a tray holding a few small white cups of hot steaming green tea. The others looked up and smiled at her thoughtful act. She walked over to where the shivering three were, thinking they probably needed the tea the most. They each grabbed a cup of their own and thanked the girl before taking a sip. Their bodies tingled as they felt the warm liquid slowly run down their throat and rush all over. They enjoyed it.

After Sasami offered one to her sister, who gladly took a cup, she walked over to Washu. The scientist kept on with her typing until the little girl came up to her. She smiled.

"Ah, thank you Sasami…" She said happily, before taking a cup.

"You're welcome!" The girl responded. She looked down at her tray and noticed she had an extra tea cup left. She looked around the room before her eyes rested on Kiyone. "Where did Mihoshi go?"

The exhausted detective sighed and closed her eyes. "Knowing her, she probably went straight to bed."

"If there's one person that should be in bed right now, it should be you Kiyone." Ayeka argued, as Kiyone re-opened her eyes to look at her. "I'm surprised you still have the energy to even stay up after all that has happened…"

"Yea, you were really determined today, Kiyone." Tenchi piped in. Kiyone's cheeks filled with a pink hue from the sudden attention she was getting.

"I'm just… doing my job…" She shyly muttered.

Ryoko slowly scooted closer to Tenchi, taking in his warmth and letting her head rest on his shoulder. She began playfully tracing small circles in his cheek. Ayeka jealously eyed her sudden gesture.

"You know Tenchi, I enjoyed our little night dip in the lake tonight. We should do it again sometime… Just the two of us… _without _the PJs…" She teased. Tenchi sighed at her failed attempt to try and entice him. He was about to decline when Ayeka bent back in her seat and shoved the space pirate's head off of his shoulder. She held a threatening fist to her.

"Can't you see he's not interested, Ryoko? Lord Tenchi doesn't have the time to be swimming the lake with a frog like you…"

Ryoko rubbed the side of her face before turning back to the princess.

"A frog, you say? Better to be a frog than a poor ugly duckling, Ayeka…"

"Ha! You're one to talk about being poor…"

"Spoiled brat."

"Pig-nosed twit."

"Lying cookie eater!"

"Potato chip stuffer!"

"AHEM!"

The bickering came to a halt, much to everyone else's relief. They all looked at Washu, standing ready to make her announcement. She placed her teacup atop of the console before continuing and folded her hands behind her back.

"To update you all on how our friend here is doing…" She thumbed at the chamber bed. "He suffered a few minor injuries and his breathing pattern is starting to even out. It looks like he's going to be fine thanks to _my_ invention. Just give him a bit of time to heal and he should be fine."

The tension of the room finally lifted.

"Well that's a relief…" Tenchi sighed out. Washu nodded and pointed a finger at them.

"As for _you_ three… don't you DARE scare me like that again! You were under there _way_ too long; what happened?"

Tenchi, Ryoko, and Kiyone looked at each other in question. Who was going to tell the story? The blue haired detective suddenly looked down and scratched her cheek with her finger in thought.

"Well…"

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

_Kiyone looked over the lake's surface from one of the exit doors of Yagami. Her pony tail blew behind her like a cape in the wind as she held on tight to the doorframe. Not a lot of things ran through her mind when she looked down; only her set goal of rescuing the pilot. She could barely make out the shrinking shadow of the black ship a few hundred meters under her. She took in a deep breath._

"_Here goes nothing…"_

_She jumped off and dove head first straight into the icy depths, taking on the full impact of the transition from air to water. The crash hit her harder than she expected, blinding her momentarily. She shook it off and blinked away the pain. Now… where was that ship…? Her turquoise eyes took a moment to adjust to the darker and much blurrier settings._

_There right in front of her was a trail of bubbles floating to the top. She swam to it. Sure enough, there was the black ship right under the trail, and it seemed to have already reached the bottom. The lights were still on inside, but from where she was, she couldn't find the pilot. She descended further. _

_She curiously looked through one of the windows. It was a complete mess inside; most of the stuff was now on one side because of the slight angle the ship landed on. Books, clothes, food… all against the control panel. Upon closer inspection, she found a body lying still underneath all the rubbish. Water was spewing from the cracks and crevices in the walls and door; she needed to get him out before the inside filled up. But how to get in…_

_From her experience trying to blast the ship earlier with Yagami, it looked like her laser gun wasn't going to work against the metal. And since she was underwater, her shots would lose heat easily and be even more useless. She went for her trusty GP yo-yo on her belt instead. Looping it around her finger, she swam back a few feet to gain some momentum in her throw. She pulled her arm back, and then threw the yo-yo like a frisbee at the window. It sliced through the water just as easily as it would in the air. The window crashed open successfully from the force. She retracted the yo-yo and clipped it back onto her belt before she swam into the new opening._

_She kicked away some of the glass before entering, so that she wouldn't cut herself as she pushed herself in. Lucky that the window's size was big enough for her, she swam in and fell on the floor, as more water poured over her and into the ship. Her chest heaved in and out heavily as she lay there. Any longer in the water and she could've drowned. She rolled off to her side to avoid anymore water. Her shoulder ran over something and she turned her head to see what it was. A foot? She slowly looked up and found herself looking at Ryoko smirking down at her with an outstretched hand._

"_Liking the view from down there, officer?" She asked. Kiyone returned the smirk before grabbing hold of her hand. Ryoko pulled her up to her feet. Kiyone looked at her confused._

"_How did you…?" _

"_Swam a bit, then teleported inside." Ryoko simplified. She looked passed the broken window. "Ah, there he is…"_

_Kiyone turned back to the window and saw Tenchi squeezing through the hole she made. He fell the same way she did, but got up from the floor quicker. He patted himself down and grinned. _

"_We're here to help, Kiyone." He smirked. She nodded at him. _

"_Thanks guys."_

_She strode over to where the pilot was and pulled off all the stuff that was on him. Ryoko and Tenchi followed suit. After they cleared out the stuff, they took a closer look at him. The man had a concentrated look on his face, with his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth slightly opened. Kiyone carefully placed two fingers under his neck to check if he still had a pulse. _

'_Good; he's still alive…' She thought. "Ryoko, do you think you can quickly search the ship for a space suit or an air tank or something? He might have one around somewhere…"_

"_Sure thing." She looked around and found a stairway leading downstairs on the opposite side of the room. She headed there first._

"_Tenchi, help me lift this guy up, he's pretty heavy…" Kiyone hoisted the man's right arm over her shoulder while Tenchi grabbed hold of his left arm. They slowly lifted his body up; his head hung low and his feet dragged behind. They carried his body close to the window and door to prepare for their escape. Tenchi looked over at Kiyone and found she was breathing heavily again and was struggling to keep one eye open. Not having any food in her stomach was really starting to show its affects on her._

"_Hey, are you doing okay?" He asked, concerned. "Let me carry him by myself; you need to regain your strength."_

_Kiyone smirked and shook her head. "Thanks, but don't worry about me, Tenchi; I'll be fine."_

_He let out a small laugh. Trying to argue with a stubborn woman was useless. "Heh, if you say so…"_

_Ryoko came back up the stairs, looking much wetter and much more serious._

"_No good; the place is filled with water and I can't find any suits for him to use." She reported. "Guess we'll just have to carry him out without any air supply."_

"_Think we can make it to the surface fast enough?" Tenchi asked Kiyone, who wasn't sure how to answer that. Ryoko eyed them and held her chin in thought. _

"_Hmm… I can get him up there faster than you two, that's for sure… give him here." She said confidently. She walked over and grabbed the arm Tenchi was supporting. She pulled him away from Kiyone and hoisted most of his body weight onto her back. Then she looked at the door to the exit._

"_Blasting it isn't going to work; the metal from the outside is just going to deflect it." Kiyone informed her, as if she knew Ryoko was going to do just that. _

"_Huh. A little kick is all we need then…" _

_She stepped forward and lifted her leg. With a loud yell, she kicked the door down with the super-human strength of her foot. A huge wave came crashing in to fill up the rest of the water-less space, catching all them off guard as they slipped off their feet. Ryoko was the first to retaliate as she held on tight to the man and flew out of the new opening as fast as she could. Tenchi and Kiyone quickly caught themselves and swam right behind her. _

_Ryoko underestimated the man's weight in the water and found he was holding her down. If only she could free her arms then it could be easier, she thought. The man started cringing as he let out a few air bubbles, and allowed some water to enter his airways. She put in more effort into her flight through the water. First thing's first; save him now, whine later._

_The space pirate broke through the surface and flew up high into the air. She coughed out a huge wad of water and tried to catch her breath. Okay, that was TOO close! She realized she sucked in some water on accident from when she kicked the door down. Hopefully the others didn't experience the same problem. She quickly looked over her shoulder. The man started coughing violently, as his body was naturally trying to get rid of what water he inhaled. He continued for a few more seconds, and moaned in pain, before finally calming down. She looked at him._

"_Doin' okay there buddy?" She asked. He didn't respond._

'_Hmm, he seems fine… but I better take him to Washu just in case…' She thought. A few splashes and coughing caught her attention and she looked down underneath her feet. Tenchi and Kiyone made it to the surface safely. She waved at them._

"_Hey! Let me drop this guy off with Washu! I'll come back for you guys!" She yelled._

"_Okay then!" Tenchi yelled back, waving an arm to her._

_With that, she re-adjusted the weight on her back and flew towards the shore, where the others waited patiently for their return…_

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

Half an hour later after Kiyone told the story, Tenchi, Ryoko, Ayeka, and Sasami decided to call it a night and finally retreat to their rooms where their soft, warm beds awaited them. It was indeed a long chaotic night and everyone was exhausted. Hopefully by sunrise, the man they had rescued would have come to. They all said their goodnights to each other and quietly left Washu's lab, all except Kiyone who stayed behind. She felt embarrassed for keeping the woman up longer. She held her blanket tightly as she approached the scientist.

"Um… Washu…" She started. Washu continued typing, but acknowledged her presence with a small hum. Kiyone continued. "I'm sorry I called you so late… and for getting you involved in this…"

Washu stopped what she was doing and slightly turned her head to look at her. "Kiyone… you made me ruin my beauty sleep…" She said annoyingly; Kiyone wasn't sure how to answer that. Then she fully faced her.

"However, you've managed to keep Mihoshi from touching my things lately, so I'll think of it as returning a favor." She smiled. Kiyone let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Thank you." She bowed, but looked up again. "And um… there's one more thing…" She trailed off. Washu closed her eyes and smirked. She promptly got out of her seat and began walking away; most likely to go off to bed. She put a hand up as she walked.

"The extra futon's near the door…" Washu said nonchalantly. Kiyone's smile grew, happy that she understood her situation. She didn't have to put up trying sleep with Mihoshi's loud snoring tonight! She bowed graciously to the scientist before turning on her heel. As she was walking, the green glow of the regeneration chamber suddenly caught her eye. She stopped.

The chamber looked like a thin bed, much like the one Grandfather Katsuhito (or better known as Yosho) had used when he was injured by Kagato the year before. It still had a glass covering over it, but now it included a cushion to provide more comfort to the user. Kiyone slowly walked over, curiosity getting the better of her. Inside was the pilot; hands to his sides and feet together. His blue boots were gone and she noticed he still had the same clothes on. But they looked dry to her; it was probably the chamber's doing.

She took a step closer and inspected him. His raven hair was in the middle of being ruffled and spiked, and his face looked a lot calmer now, as if he was just sleeping. She could see his eyes moving side to side underneath his eyelids; it meant he was dreaming so he probably was doing okay. Her eyes slowly drifted to his torso. She blushed. It didn't occur to her just how muscular he was. He wasn't 'mass destruction' buff, nor was he 'scrawny' buff. He was… just right. The heat rose into her cheeks more.

'Mihoshi was right… he _is_ kinda cute…' She thought, referring to when Mihoshi had described him earlier on the chase. She shook out of her day dream and began walking away, scared to imagine what _other_ thoughts could come up if she stayed any longer. It was late enough as it was, and she needed to get some shut eye. Her head turned slightly to the chamber's direction. She smirked. Though she wasn't one to judge a book by its cover, she'll admit, she was looking forward to meeting this man…

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

Later that night, or early morning, small footsteps tip toed quietly down the wooden stairs of the Masaki household, taking extra precaution not to make a single sound that would wake anyone up… that is, until the person lost their footing, let out a yelp, and crashed down the stairs until they smacked face first into the floor. Mihoshi groaned in pain as tears began to swell up her eyes. She sat up like a small child, rubbing away tears and waited for someone to pick her up and kiss away the 'boo boo'. She sniffed and propped herself back up.

"Kiyone… where are you, Kiyone…" She whimpered. The troubled woman had woken up from her sleep feeling thirsty and hungry. It was then she noticed her roommate was not in the room in her usual sleeping spot and it worried her greatly. She went into the kitchen first to look for her. What better place to start than the fridge, right? She looked over her options; leftover noodles, shrimp tempura, a weird pink glowing blob with a 'DO NOT EAT' sign on it… what to choose, what to choose…

"Mihoshi?"

The blonde jumped back in surprise and fell on her bottom. She rubbed her backside before looking up. It was Sasami. She held a small pink blanket over her shoulders with one hand, and the other was resting firmly on her hips. Her bare foot was tapping the floor impatiently, trying to figure out what the grown woman was doing at this time.

"Oh! Sasami! What are you doing up?"

"I heard a crash and I came down to look…it was you, huh?" She asked. Mihoshi grinned and scratched the back of her head. "It's late, what are you doing?"

"Hehe, well, I was going to get a drink of water, but then I saw Kiyone wasn't sleeping in our room. So I went down here to find her, but then I got kinda hungry and then…well… here I am!" She giggled.

Sasami thought for a moment. Kiyone wasn't in her room? Then where did she…? Sasami's eyes widened.

Oh.

She was _there_. Kiyone secretly told her about those times where she'd sleep in Washu's lab because it was the one place she constantly told Mihoshi to stay out of. Sasami thought it was to help Washu from not being bothered, but she knew Kiyone wasn't that selfish. She was probably doing a 'Kill two birds with one stone' deal. Smart move. She started laughing nervously.

"Heh heh heh, well I hope you got what you wanted to eat, Mihoshi! We'd better go back to sleep now…" Sasami picked up the klutzy woman off the floor and pushed her out of the kitchen, towards the staircase.

"But what about Kiyo--"

"Oh don't worry about her, she, um… probably went out for a walk!"

"At four in the morning…?"

"Uh… you know how she likes her strolls; early and… dark… heh heh…?"

"Okay, if you say so…"

Mihoshi let out a huge yawn before heading back up the stairs. Sasami stayed in her place at the foot and watched go until she was out of sight. The sound of a door sliding shut echoed through the hall. She let out a sigh.

'Taking a stroll at this time? Oh boy… I need to come up with better excuses.' The girl sweat dropped and scratched her head. 'Ah, now I can't go to sleep…'

She looked around and tried to find something useful to do. It was much too early to begin breakfast, and she wasn't into watching TV as much as Ayeka or Ryoko. Maybe she should go out for a walk? She shook her head; too dark, too cold. Her eyes lingered around and found the door to Washu's lab. Not a lot of people were allowed free access into her lab, unless it was really important. But Sasami was one of the few people that had grown onto the little scientist and fully trusted when it came to exploring her lab. One day she told Sasami that she was allowed to enter anytime she pleased. The blue haired girl never took advantage of the offer, only going in to fetch Washu to eat or if she was called in by her. This time though, she felt like going in for fun.

She walked over and opened the door hesitantly; she didn't want to go in if Washu was working. The room was quite empty; there wasn't any typing going on so she assumed Washu went off to bed. She stepped inside, quietly closed the door behind her, and looked around in awe. Was the room really that big? The ceiling seemed to never end, and she could see what looked to be miles upon miles of inventions in front of her. As much as she'd like to explore, she knew better than to just wander around aimlessly in this place. Especially in the dark with no one around.

A faint snoring caught her attention. She looked to her far right to see what it was. She smiled.

There was Kiyone, sleeping peacefully on the futon. She was having a good sleep, judging by the peaceful smile that was on her face. Sasami inwardly giggled. 'That's what happens when she knows Mihoshi's not around!' She noticed she was still shivering a little bit, even with the blanket she had around her. The girl walked over and decided to surrender her blanket to hopefully warm her up. She draped it over the upper part of her body, careful enough to not wake her up. For a moment, Kiyone shifted in her sleep. Sasami froze. The older woman mumbled something in her sleep, but Sasami couldn't make it out. She slowly backed away to keep from being discovered.

She made it a good fifteen feet away from the deep sleeper. As she turned around, her foot got caught in the stray wires and she suddenly lost her balance. She clenched her teeth, to keep from making a noise, and prepared for the fall that was to come.

Except, it didn't come. Her back was leaning against something… warm? She looked down; there were bare feet. Uh oh.

Sasami gulped. Her head slowly turned around, scared to find out who it was. Her eyes widened.

"Mi-Mihoshi?!?"

The blonde woman had her back towards her, with her finger resting on her lips and looking around. It seemed she didn't notice the small figure resting on her back until she was called. She looked down curiously.

"Oh, Sasami! What are you doing here?" She asked. Sasami fell the other way. That reaction was just… beyond her control. She quickly recovered and her face was in the midst of confusion. For one she was scared. Where the heck did she come from, how did she get in without being noticed, AND how did she not notice getting bumped?! Sasami pouted for a while. Mihoshi looked at her, waiting for an answer.

Sasami blinked. "I was uh…" Her mind jumbled with different excuses, but hen she spotted the tea cup on Washu's console. "I was going to… pick up Washu's tea cup! I forgot I needed to… wash… it…?"

Mihoshi looked in the direction Sasami was looking at. Her grinned widened.

"Let me get that for you!" She offered. "It's a good thing I came in here while Kiyone was out! You know, she never lets me in here, and now I can explore, hehe!"

The Jurian slapped a hand onto her face. She knew she should've thought of a different excuse…

'Well, as long as she doesn't break anything…' Sasami thought.

Mihoshi skipped over happily to the console and looked inside the cup.

"oOoOo… there's still some tea inside…" She took the cup and held it to her lips. "Waste not, want not!"

As she was about to drink the remaining half of the tea, she suddenly looked at Washu's monitor and gasped.

"No way! She has the unreleased, uncut DVD of my favorite TV show!!" She awed. She immediately went straight to pressing random buttons on Washu's keyboard, seeing as there isn't a mouse for her to work with. Completely distracted with trying to play the show, she forgot what she was going to do and dropped the tea cup. The liquid spilled all over the keys and sunk all through the crevices, short circuiting what expensive equipment Washu had built. Mihoshi shrieked and jumped back as the keyboard started sparking dangerously.

"U-U-Uh… that doesn't look good…"

The left side of the console suddenly blew up into a bright red and smoky explosion. Mihoshi and Sasami yelled and covered their eyes from the debris. The computer started wailing out a loud siren, giving the signal that its explosion was just the beginning for something big that was to come. Sasami's eyes grew wide.

Mihoshi quickly turned around and made a run towards the door. "Let's get out of here Sasami!!!" Her experience from her constant chases from Kiyone had shown itself as she made a mad dash towards the exit. Yet, her ability to watch her own feet along the way have utterly failed her as her two left feet ran into one another, making her fall flat onto the floor in front of Sasami. She lay on the floor unconscious with a dizzy look on her face and some slight drool oozing out of her mouth.

Sasami couldn't even remember what Mihoshi said to her; she was too surprised with what was going on. She tried to move to help Mihoshi, but realized her foot was still stuck. The wires around her foot had tied itself tightly around her ankle from the two times she almost fell before. Her heart started racing as she tried to untangle herself.

"Sasami!!"

The girl turned her head at the call of her name. Kiyone was running towards her as fast as she could with the most worried look on her face. Unfortunately, since she just woke up, her limbs were stiff from not enough stretching, making it harder for her to run. She pulled a Mihoshi, tripping over her own foot and falling over. She gasped as gravity did what it did best to pull her down and slide across the floor from her running momentum.

"Kiyone help! My foot's stuck!" Sasami yelled. Kiyone struggled to rise up from her spot.

'Dammit, I'm still so tired from not eating and from rescuing that guy…' She thought.

The detective recovered quickly, using whatever energy she had left in her to run. Another part of the console burst into a black and orangey explosion. Its blast was bigger than the last and it almost threw Kiyone back a few feet. She growled in persistence. She kept her ground as she blocked what debris was thrown at her and fought her way towards Sasami. The sirens around her grew louder and the tempo of it grew faster and faster. Adrenaline rushed within her; she knew there was only a little bit of time left before the computer completely exploded into bits.

She finally reached the girl and started pulling at the cords that trapped her foot. There was no plan in her mind; just pure improvisation and hoping luck was on her side once again. Sasami yelped in pain when she tugged on the wrong wires. Kiyone apologized and took a moment to hear the sirens amongst the chaos of metal ripping and glass shattering. She cursed; there was no way she could carry both Sasami and Mihoshi out of there in time.

Her mind finally made a decision. She got up and dragged Mihoshi's body in front of Sasami, then positioned herself the behind the girl, with her back facing the computer. She wrapped her arms protectively around the Jurian. Sasami looked up at her.

'No…' She thought. 'She's going to try and protect us!'

Kiyone looked down at her. "Hold on to Mihoshi!" She instructed. The girl looked at her a few seconds more before she nodded and took the unconscious blonde in her arms. In that moment of time, she worried for Kiyone's life. The metal burst into bits, sparks flew like fireflies at night, as the siren's tempo had finally grew into one long and solid wail. Kiyone held onto Sasami tighter.

"Don't worry Sasami, I've got you!" She reassured her. Sasami closed her eyes and tucked herself within the secure embrace of the older woman. She shook in fear as the computer grew louder with an eerie white glow, but prepared herself nonetheless.

All felt lost as Kiyone sat there, wide open for direct damage. But it didn't matter to her, as long as the other two were safe, she would be fine. She too closed her eyes as she heard the monitor begin to crack from the pressure being built up inside.

The huge monitor finally burst into an enormous explosion, sending the millions of broken glass shards and metal pieces flying in all directions. Sasami held in her scream and Kiyone stiffened, awaiting the pieces to stab her mercilessly in the back. How bad was it going to be, she thought, letting her imagination run wild with gory images of her soon-to-be murdered back.

A gust of wind suddenly blew over her, and she felt a warm presence fall over her back. Whatever it was, it stopped the debris from hitting her. She thought it was from the computer, but found it was something else as the thing behind her took in a sharp intake of breath. Glass continued to rain over them, and the computer had ceased with the wailing. The scene started to quiet down considerably, with smoke just fuming out of the now destroyed computer. Kiyone opened her eyes and looked in her arms. Sasami was just opening her eyes and Mihoshi looked to be fine in her unconscious state… so then who…?

"You girls okay?"

Kiyone stiffened again. That didn't sound like Tenchi…

She turned her head and found herself looking into the face of a smirking man. Her mind quickly recognized him as the pilot that was supposed to be out cold in the chamber.

His black hair was longer than Tenchi's, a few strands lazily fell over his eyes. She looked into them for a moment and felt as though she could get lost in them. His body overshadowed her, with arms outstretched, and pieces of glass and metal fell from his shoulders. He looked down at her, still waiting for an answer.

Kiyone blinked and returned the smirk. Luck was definitely on her side today. Sasami looked up at the new voice and smiled widely.

"Wow! Did you protect us?" She asked. The man straightened up and shook off the remaining debris from his back. He grinned at her sheepishly.

"Heh, I tried! Did any of you get hurt?" He asked again. Sasami shook her head.

"Nope, we're fine!" She answered. Kiyone looked from Sasami to the man, grateful for what he did. She nodded to him.

"Yes, thank you so much, mister…?"

The man smiled warmly before extending a hand to her.

"Gohan… Call me Gohan."

She whole heartedly took it. "I'm Kiyone."

**ooooooooooooooooooo**

Ah, okay, news, news, news…

In the next few days I'll be very busy with family reunions and college stuff, so at the earliest, the next update will probably come in next week, or in two weeks; it depends.

Again, please review, I'd really appreciate it because I enjoy hearing from you all. Many thanks, and I'll see ya when I see ya!

-signoRINA


End file.
